Today's Inspiration: Chevrons

Chevrons. The gorgeous piece is another in the long line of reclaimed wood sculptures by the über talented, Aaron S Moran. More fuel for my new-found geometric jones.

Abrams Fall 2013 Covers Revealed!

It sure was a long winter and a busy season for Amulet and BYR, but the sweat, tears, and hours of missed sleep were well worth it to design and art direct this lineup: 

The Infinite Moment of Us

Rock-a-Bye Room · Illustrated by Amy Bates

Secrets of the Terra Cotta Soldier · Cover illustration by Jonathan Bartlett

Fraidyzoo · Text and illustration by Thyra Heder

Constable & Toop · Cover illustration by Jim Tierney

13 Hangmen · Paperback cover illustration by Vincent Chong

The Girl from the Tarpaper School

Goodbye, Rebel Blue · Cover design by Christian Fuenfhausen

Searching for Sarah Rector

The Spelling Bee Before Recess · Illustration by Carey F. Armstrong Ellis

And last but not least: Unhinged · Cover illustration by Nathalia Suellen

Book Title Logos

I'm always on about book titles as logos. And I'm sure I've mentioned a time or two that my design process always starts with the book title, which means I begin with the development of a logo. Here's a look at some Amulet and BYR titles in their pure logotype form:

 

 

 

 

Today's Inspiration: Apathy with a Side of Bacon

Apathy with a Side of Bacon. We all have those days. It's the dead of winter, R.E.M. is on the playlist, and life feels like meh. But even the darkest void can inspire some level of creativity (however strange). So give in to the apathy and see what happens. Just remember: There's nothing that can't be made better with bacon.

Today's Inspiration: The Sight of the Stars

The Sight of the Stars. Saw this on a friend's blog and was immediately smitten, not just by the message but by the gorgeous, gorgeous typography. Crafted by the brilliant typographer Seb Lester, this limited edition print is screened by hand in metallic gold ink on midnight blue paper. And as if it could possibly get more beautiful, embedded in the lettering are thousands of tiny stars:

Today's Inspiration: les BALLETS de FAILE

les BALLETS de FAILE. Spotted this morning at the Carroll Street stop in Brooklyn. If I hadn't already been running extremely late, I would have jumped off the F train to get a snap of this breathtaking poster. (Plucked instead from fastcocreate.com) Based in Brooklyn, the fab FAILE duo creates a custom blend of high and low brow art: Lichtenstein meets Neck Face meets Toulouse-Lautrec meets American Pickers ... I'm in love. For more FAILE art and their upcoming exhibition at Lincoln Center for the launch of the New York City Ballet Art Series:

Today's Inspiration: Patterns of Infinity

Patterns of Infinity. I post a lot of patterns, but this one by Andy Gilmore especially caught my eye. Spotted yesterday on WeTransfer (a file transfer site that generously provides interesting backgrounds for easily distracted designers, like myself, to zone out on while waiting for files. Think: elevator music for the eyes.) Well, unlike crappy elevator music, I was mesmerized by Andy's work and had to take a screen grab. Not only do I want to live in this color palette, I find that this kind of conceptual art fuels an obsession I've developed with the notion of infinity, in time, space, nature, shapes, color, relationships, etc. Will be obsessing over this and his other work for a while: